Electric motor



(No Model.) 7 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

O. WIRT.

ELECTRIC MOTOR.

Patented Jan, 29, 1895.

UNITED STATES CHARLES 'WIRT, OF

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ELECTRIC MOTOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No 533,108, dated January29, 1895.

Application filed April 23,1 8 94- To all whom. it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES WIRT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Electric Motors, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to electric motors designed to producereciprocating or oscillating movements, and my object is to produce amotor which will have a definite rate of movement capable of accurateregulation and adjustment and which will at the same time be simple inconstruction and hence not liable to derangement.

A motor constructed in accordance with my invention is particularlyuseful for operating the escapement mechanism of clocks, electric metersor other apparatus requiring a chronometric movement.

A motor embodying my invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which Figure 1 is an elevation and partial section; Fig. 2,a plan View with the circuit connections; Fig. 3, a perspective View;and Fig. at, a modified oscillator, constructed as a balance wheel.

Ais the base upon which the operating parts are mounted.

A is a post for supporting a solenoid B.

C is an iron core for the solenoid. An auxiliary armature 0 workingoutside the solenoid may also be used. This core C, c is secured to anarm C extending from a hub or collar'C on a shaft D, which shaft isjournaled in bearings D on standards D and D Another arm E also extendsfrom hub C and this arm carries an adjustable counterbalancing weight E.

F is a dash-pot within which works a piston F As shown in Fig. 4:, thependulum may be provided with a spiral spring S having its inner endsecured to the shaft or hub C and its outer end to a stationary post 8.'When such a spring is employed, a smaller counterbalancing weight isrequired and the pendu= Serial No. 508,662. (No model.)

lum works as a balance wheel. The dash-pot has an inwardly opening valvef in its bottom which permits a free upward movement of the piston. Thispiston is connected with a lever E which is pivoted at a: to an uprightG extending from the base. The free end of lever F engages with the pinH of crank H on shaft D.

I is a collar on shaftD from which projects a spring arm Iprovided atits extremity with a finger I adapted to strike the cam-shaped plate J.This plate is carried by a spindle J which passes through a bushing J ofinsulating material seated in standard D The spindle J is provided witha milled head J by which it is turned to adjust the position of plate .Irelative to finger 1 The current for energizing the solenoid is derivedfrom a battery K or other source of electrical energy.

L represents a switch and resistance for closing the circuit to thesolenoid and for regulating the current supplied thereto.

The circuit connections are as follows: from battery K by wire 1 to theswitch arm through wire 2 to coil B through the coil to base A by wire3, through standards D and D to shaft D, crank H and pin H to lever Fthrough the dash-pot or upright G and wire 4 back to the battery.

When the motor is at rest the position of the core C, counterbalanceweight E and lever F will be as shown in Fig. 1, and on closing circuitto the solenoid B the same is energized and produces a pull on the core,which action rocks shaft D and raises the counterbalance, and also leverF through crank H. The pull on the core produces a swinging or pendulousmovement of the counterbalance and consequently a rocking movement ofshaft D. The downward movement of the counterbalance after the firstpull on the core breaks the contact between the lever F and pin H andopens the circuit. The lever F due to its Weight "and that of the pistonF, then moves downward against the air pressure in the dash-pot. Aspring may be used to assist this movement. The downward movement of thelever is slower than the downward movement of the counterbalance weight.

The dash-pot is provided for the purpose of regulating the movement oflever F so that contact between it and pin H is made only on the upwardswing of the counterbalance weight, and contact is broken immediately asthe weight begins to move downward. As the weight swings upward again,the pin H again makes contact with the lever F closing circuit to thecoil 13, which again produces a pull on the core. Thus the coil B isonly energized on each upward or forward swing of the weight, and sincethe position of lever F after the motor is started will always be higherthan when starting from the point of rest, the periodical pull will befor a less period than on the initial swing and hence the pull is onlysufficient to maintain a constant swing or pendulous movement of theweight and core.

Although I have shown a dash-pot for con trolling or retarding themovement of lever IF, it is evident that a number of other devices maybe employed for accomplishing the same object without departing from thespirit of my invention. For instance, a retarding fan or retardingescapement such as are well known in clock work movements may beemployed.

The action of the motor may be modified and regulated by the employmentof the cutoff consisting of the spring-arm 1', finger I and plate J, theplate J being connected to wire 2 by wire 5. As the core is drawn intothe coil and shaft D is rocked, the springarm 1 moves downward andfinger 1 makes contact with plate J thus short-circuiting the coilbefore contact is broken at lever F and pin H. The establishment of thisshort-circuit also prevents sparking at F and H. Plate Jbeingadjustable, the point at which the short-circuit is established canbe easily regulated. The spring-arm l is preferably employed forcarrying the finger for making contact with plate J in order to avoid arigid contact between the finger and plate, which would retard theaction of the motor.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that my motor isessentially a pendulum or balance wheel whose movement is initiated andmaintained by an electric actuating device through a floating contactwhose position of rest closes the circuit to the actuating device whenthe pendulum is also at rest, and is capable of being easily moved bythe pendulum from this normal position and returns to the normalposition with a retarded movement. By this means the motor is not onlyself starting, but the movement of the pendulum pushes the floatingcontact away from the normal or central position of the pendulum untilthe maximum swing of the pendulum is reachcd,when,on each forwardmovement, the pendulum will close the circuit lthrough the floatingcontact for a definite lperiod of time depending upon the rate of swingof the pendulum and the rate of movement of the retarded or floatingcontact. This action may be in turn modified by the cutout device. Thusan exceedingly effective and readily adjusted chrono-electric motor isproduced.

It is evident that the form of apparatus illustrated may be modifiedwithout departing from the spirit of my invention, and in making use ofthe word pendulum in the claims I mean to include a balance wheel orother form of oscillator.

What I claim is- 1. A ehrono-electric motor having in combination apendulum, a contact moved thereby, an electric actuating device, and acontact having a retarded movement toward the pendulum contact and afree movement in the opposite direction, substantially as and for thepurposes set forth,

2. A chrono-electric motor having in combination a pendulum, a contactmoved thereby, an electric actuating device, and a contact having aretarded movement toward the pendulum contact and a free movement in theopposite direction, said retarded contact closing the circuit at thependulum contact when the parts are in the position of rest,substantially as set forth.

8. A chrono-electric motor having in combination a pendulum, a contactmoved thereby, an electric actuating device, a contact having a retardedmovement toward the pendulum contact and a free movement in the oppositedirection, and an adjustable cut-out device withdrawing the current fromthe electric actuating device at a predetermined point during theclosure of the circuit by the pendulum and retarded contacts,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

t. A chrono -electric motor having in combination a pendulum, a contactmoved thereby, an electric actuating device, a contact having a retardedmovement toward the pendulum contact and a free movement in the oppositedirection, said retarded contact closing the circuit at the pendulumcontact when the parts are in the position of rest, and an adjustablecut-out device withdrawing the current from the electric actuatingdevice at a predetermined point during the closure of the circuit by thependulum and retarded con tacts, substantially as set forth.

5. In a chrono-electric motor, the combination with an oscillatingshaft, of a solenoid core carried by said shaft, a solenoid acting uponsaid core, a pendulum carried by said shaft, a swinging contact carriedby said shaft, and a contact having a retarded movement toward the firstcontact and a free movement in the opposite direction, substantially asset forth.

6. In a chrome-electric motor, the combination with the oscillatingpendulum, actuating solenoid and contact having a retarded movement inone direction, of a flexible or yielding contact carried by thependulum, and an adjustable contact point or plate closing a 5 shunt orcut-out circuit with the yielding con- Witnesses:

tact at a predetermined point, substantially W. PELZER,

as set forth. EUGENE CONRAN.

This specification signed and witnessed this 21st day of April, 1894.

CHARLES WIRT.

